Grandpa, times have changed.

evening.

The Supreme Dao Sect is the venue for this Immortal Sect Grand Competition.

In a corner of the audience, Xi Li walked over with two bottles of juice and handed one of them to Chi Jiuyu.

"Want a drink?"

Chi Jiuyu stared blankly at the juice handed to her for a moment, but still reached out and took it.

"Thank you."

Xi Li smiled and sat down beside her.

"The Immortal Sect Competition is in a week. Shouldn't you be preparing properly?"

"Everything that needs to be prepared has been prepared."

For the past two weeks, she has been studying the 'Sword of Ultimate Power'.

But this is an extremely demanding task in itself.

With the Immortal Sect Grand Competition approaching, all she needs to do is rest well over the next week and get herself into top condition.

"Have you finished all your work?" Chi Jiuyu asked tentatively.

My senior sister had told her before she came to behave herself.

So before this, she had only been quietly observing Xi Li's every move, and today she had said no more than five sentences to Xi Li.

"Hmm." Xi Li opened the juice in her hand and took a sip. "The process isn't complicated. You can remember it after reading it once. Just follow the process when the time comes."

As for what to say at that time...

In this respect, she was given a lot of freedom; she could decide for herself what to say.

Chi Jiuyu silently opened the juice and took a sip.

"I've heard some rumors that you want to run for the next Sword Sect Master?" she asked casually.

“Emm…” Xi Li hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, “It’s not just a rumor.”

If it's not just a rumor, then it must be true!
Although she already knew, hearing her admit it herself still made Chi Jiuyu feel uneasy, and she immediately took another sip of juice.

Why do you want to become the sect leader?

She simply stated what she wanted to ask!
"Why do you want to become the sect leader...?"

Xi Li looked at the empty venue in front of her.

"This is a rather complicated question to answer, but I'll keep it short."

Upon hearing this, Chi Jiuyu became extremely alert, his expression solemn.

"In the world I came from, it took us many years and a great deal of effort to finally defeat our enemy."

"But after everything calmed down, I realized that the world itself did not seem to have become the wonderful thing I had expected because of the disappearance of the enemy."

"Moreover, there are many things that I know are bad, but I can't prevent them from happening. Sometimes, they even happen because of me."

Perhaps recalling all that she had experienced along the way, Xi Li's tone was full of emotion.

Chi Jiuyu did not interrupt and continued to listen quietly.

Although Xi Li's words seemed to have nothing to do with the question she asked, Chi Jiuyu still understood what she meant.

In the past five years, she has experienced more than a dozen mission worlds.

With so many different civilizations and social systems, she is no longer the illiterate fisherwoman she once was.

"I originally thought I would get the answer after ascending, but the result was not so." Xi Li said with some helplessness.

"Even today, I still feel somewhat lost."

"So I thought that if I could look at the world from different perspectives, I might get the answer to this question."

Upon hearing this, Chi Jiuyu silently took another sip of juice.

But then Xi Li beside him asked:
"And what about you, Junior Grandmaster Uncle? Why do you want to become the Sect Master of the Sword Sect?"

Everyone knows about the Sword Sect.

Even people from other immortal sects knew about this, so it was impossible for her not to know.

"I……"

Chi Jiuyu opened her mouth as if to say something, her expression somewhat conflicted.

For a while.

"If you ask me to say it now, I really can't. How about we wait until I've thought it through and then I tell you, okay?"

"Of course." Xi Li smiled and took out her phone. "Shall we add each other as friends first?"

"Uh-huh!"

The two quickly became friends.

Chi Jiuyu saved Xi Li's contact as 'competitor', and Xi Li, seeing this, also saved her contact as 'competitor'.

After this incident, the atmosphere became much more relaxed, and Chi Jiuyu started talking more.

"By the way, why do you have white hair? And your magical power seems somewhat similar to mine. Do you also cultivate the 'Tai Xu Sword Manual'?"

"No, the three lineages I cultivate in the Earth Immortal Realm are [Sword], [Yin], and [Kill]. The [Yin] and [Sword] lineages are related to my ancestor, while the [Kill] lineage was obtained by chance, and I still don't know its origin."

[Yin], [Sword], [Kill]?
She said the first two were related to the founder, so they are probably her senior uncles.

After all, my uncle is the kind of person who likes to spread opportunities everywhere.

As for killing...

It should be my master, barring any unforeseen circumstances!

It was most likely during the time she disappeared.

"As for this white hair, it's because I was too anxious when I first started cultivating, that's why it's like this."

Then Xi Li pinched a strand of snow-white hair that had fallen across her forehead between her two fingers.

"Doesn't look good?"

"So cool! I used to want to learn a technique that could turn my hair white."

White hair and black clothes, just thinking about it is incredibly cool!

Why didn't you practice in the end?

"Well..." Chi Jiuyu scratched his head, "I think I took on a mission back then, but I forgot about it when I got back."

This idea was just a spur-of-the-moment thing.

If she hadn't seen Xi Li today, she wouldn't have even remembered this.

……

……

Soon, it was the night before the Immortal Sect Grand Competition officially began.

A crescent moon hung in the night sky, and the stars seemed even brighter than usual.

A colossal object hovered silently in the sky above the vast venue.

The moonlight poured down, making it appear somewhat crystalline and transparent, with a honeycomb-like grid structure faintly visible, and the largest 'grids' shining with tiny, dazzling lights.

The spiritual energy condensed into a tangible mist, which seemed to lift it up like auspicious clouds, with wisps of red and purple aura surrounding it.

"Is this the world used for this Immortal Sect Grand Competition?"

A man of extraordinary bearing and elegant demeanor stood in mid-air, gazing at the strange sphere before him, which was supported by auspicious clouds and surrounded by red and purple mist.

"The Void Returning Realm inside is far more powerful than the previous Xuanxiang Realm."

The imposing man with piercing eyes spoke in a deep voice.

These two people were Zhou Kongming and Lin Xingyue.

"indeed."

Zhou Kongming stared into the Mu Wujie, but his attention remained fixed on the two brightest points of light in the 'grid'.

"The two most powerful ones are probably people that even you and I would need to exert a lot of effort to defeat."

It should be noted that the two of them are the undisputed number one in the Void Returning stage of the Sword Sect and the Dragon Elephant Sky-Supporting Sect.

Weaker Void Returners couldn't even last a single exchange against them.

The two Void Returning cultivators within Mu Wujie actually possessed the ability to contend with them!

This means that the supernatural abilities of these two have surpassed most of the contemporary Void Returners in the Tai Xuan Realm.

“The Chaos Sea contains countless worlds, and naturally there are countless talents, so it should not be underestimated.”

A clear voice came from afar, and a handsome man dressed in a long, wide-sleeved blue robe walked towards them under the moonlight.

Gao Wuwang. "Just like the 'United Consciousness Entity' I encountered during my first ascension mission." He walked straight to the two of them. "Even now, I'm probably far from being their match."

Here it comes again.

It's been several years, and every time we get together, he always brags about how difficult his first ascension mission was.

He himself said he never got tired of it, but they were tired of hearing it so much!
"While this Boundless Return to Emptiness is good, it still can't compare to the 'United Consciousness Entity'."

Zhou Kong wisely didn't respond, but instead asked a question.

"How did you come?"

As we all know, Xiao Yu and Gao Wuwang are rivals in love, so Lao Xiao shouldn't let Lao Gao come and help.

"I had nothing to do, so I went out for a walk," Gao Wuwang explained casually.

Actually, he noticed that Lin Xingyue and Zhou Kongming were walking out, so he followed them to take a look.

She glanced at Mu Wujie again.

"Speaking of which, during the last Immortal Sect Grand Competition, wasn't the world's internal seal lifted after the competition officially began?"

He observed the myriad scenes that were beginning to change within the Boundless Realm.

"What's changed this time?"

"I don't know, it's said to be the decision of the founder," Lin Xingyue said.

Who can fathom the thoughts of the patriarch?

"I wonder if we'll have a chance to make a move this year," Zhou Kongming sighed.

Lin Xingyue and Gao Wuwang fell silent upon hearing this.

In the last Immortal Sect Competition, they thought they would be tasked with dealing with those mediocre individuals in the Xuanxiang Realm, but in the end, they weren't even asked to lift a finger.

This year……

“The probability is very small,” Gao Wuwang shook his head slightly. “Mu Wujie’s situation cannot be resolved in a short time.”

The conflict within Mu Wujie stems primarily from the ideological differences between the cultivation system and the ritualistic transcendent system, essentially a 'battle of the Dao,' making it difficult to say who is right and who is wrong.

The Way is contentious.

This kind of contradiction is too far removed from the reality for those who have not yet reached the Dao and returned to the Void.

“That’s true.” Zhou Kongming also looked away.

A forceful crackdown would only be a temporary solution; to truly resolve Mu Wujie's problems, we need to address them from other angles.

At the very least, there needs to be a law that both sides agree on.

This is the only way to gradually resolve the conflict between the two parties with minimal damage.

Just when a few people were chatting.

Xiao Yu was still busy around Mu Wujie, outlining purple aura, reinforcing auspicious clouds, and embedding array patterns...

Fucked!

I asked you two to come and help, and all you did was stand there chatting with Gao Wuwang?!

……

……

at the same time.

Inner sect of the Sword Sect, in front of the Sword Ancestor's Hall.

Xu Xing gazed at the starry sky, his gaze gradually sweeping over the countless stars dotting the night sky, as if he were observing something.

After a long while, he finally let out a sigh.

"So we really did run into each other..."

He turned his gaze back to what was in front of him, and the threads of the Immortal Net extended out, weaving a pale blue, semi-transparent light screen in front of him.

Meizu: "I observed the celestial phenomena last night, and Fellow Daoist Chenhuan should be emerging from seclusion in the next day or two. /Serious"

Sword Master: "Observing celestial phenomena at night? Anyone could see that, okay? / I'll give you a sword strike."

Meizu: "Nonsense! Only a few of us can see that."

Ok?
Why are those two popping up in this group tonight?
Since they created their own small group, they have rarely appeared in the leader's group.

Lingzu: "Fellow Daoist Chenhuan is about to emerge from seclusion, and tomorrow is the Immortal Sect Competition. We need to discuss our strategy carefully."

Sword Ancestor: "Indeed, although we are all prepared, we still need to discuss it further."

Sword Ancestor: "What do you mean, @Hongzun?"

At this point, there's no need to be as careful as usual.

Hongzun: "..."

Ba Zun: "Let me translate. Fellow Daoist Hong Zun means to wait for him to think about it /adjusts glasses"

Hongzun: "?"

Dan Zu: "What Fellow Daoist Hong Zun means is that Fellow Daoist Ba Zun's words are somewhat superfluous."

Hongzun: "/voice"

Group member 'Hongzun' retracted a message.

**of!
Sometimes I really want to slap those two into the ground!
Danzu: "If necessary, the Immortal Sect Grand Competition can be postponed."

Hongzun: "No need."

Hongzun: "Just maintain normal precautions, everything as usual."

Hongzun: "These minor changes are meaningless."

Indeed, compared to the "knocking on the gate to immortality," most things can be considered "minor details," and the Immortal Sect Grand Competition is no exception.

Whether it's postponed or not, it makes no difference.

Overlord: "Since the atmosphere has reached this point, I'll ask a question too."

Ba Zun: "After this, what are your plans, @Hong Zun?"

What do you mean 'the atmosphere has reached this point'?
Are you deliberately asking this?!

Hongzun couldn't help but recall those days.

Back then, it was these two guys who set him up, got him drunk, and extracted all his dark history and the whole story from him.

Make friends carelessly!
Hongzun: "None of your business!"

Hongzun: "Of course I'll make my own decision on what to do."

Overlord: "Isn't this because I care about you? / Sincerely"

Danzu: "As for how things actually turned out the way they did back then, it shouldn't make much difference to you, right?"

One more wouldn't make a difference...?
Xu Xing's eyes twitched when he saw this.

Even to him, these words sounded a bit too... 'crude'!

All I can say is that Dan Zu truly lives up to his reputation as a shut-in who only knows how to refine pills.

Hongzun was clearly taken aback by this news.

Actually, the situation back then was quite dramatic.

He saved Chen Huan's sister during his travels, but before he could express his feelings, Chen Huan imprisoned him.

After finally getting out of confinement, she found herself with her sister...

Perhaps it stems from low self-esteem?

From then on, she always kept a cold face towards him and would often make sarcastic remarks.

In addition, he hadn't experienced much at that time, and he only felt that he had saved her and made her hate him, and that his good intentions were taken for granted. So for many years afterward, his relationship with Chen Huan was not very good.

Later, because she was trapped in her inner turmoil and could not achieve enlightenment, even after using various methods to prolong her life, she still faced the situation of her lifespan coming to an end.

Under long-term repression, her mind became twisted, and she eventually conspired with the Cang Clan to kill him.

In this situation, how narcissistic would he have to be to think that Chen Huan's sister likes him?

If she hadn't confessed everything to the world just before she died, he wouldn't have even thought that Chenhuan's sister had ever liked him.

What should I say...

Looking back now, I still have mixed feelings.

Two seconds later.

Hong Zun: "None of your business!"

Regardless of what the world thinks, he still felt a pang of guilt for witnessing Chen Huan's sister die before his very eyes. (End of Chapter)